Nani? Nande? Doushite?
by xRiikox
Summary: Kyoko agrees to marry Ren on a drunken whim, and he refuses to let her back out of it. Is she prepared to face the horrors of living with Ren? R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is my first fanfic for Skip Beat!. I haven't finished reading the manga yet, so you might be wondering why I'm writing this…sweatdrops

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! … no, not even Tsuruga Ren…

Chapter 1: 'Cos that's just how things are…

Kyoko's head was spinning, but in a good way. She felt like laughing out loud, and she did, the laughter tumbling out of her mouth. Everything around her felt warm and fuzzy….even the shot glass in her hand seemed soft. She dropped it just to see if it would break when it hit the floor, but someone caught it before it could.

"Kyoko, don't do that."

The next thing she saw was a diamond ring, with a diamond that must be like, what? 12 carats?

"Kyoko…will you marry me?"

She looked past the ring, and saw the face that belonged to the guy who had spoken. Tsuruga Ren. Kyoko hesitated, but only for a split second.

"Yeah, sure!" she giggled. She saw Ren smile, and a moment later, felt the rin slide, solid and heavy, onto her finger before the floor loomed up to greet her face.

--

"Ngh…."Kyoko's head felt like someone had smashed a watermelon with it. She opened her eyes, but immediately shut them. The room was bright. Glaringly bright. As she reached up to close the curtains, she recalled the dream that she had been having…a dream that was actually pleasant, one in which Tsuruga Ren had proposed to her. She knew that it was silly, but she checked her left hand just in case.

A huge diamond glinted up at her.

"KYAAAAAHHHH!!" Kyoko screamed, a sound that made the lady boss rush in to check on her. "Kyoko-chan, are you all right? You came home all drunk last night, that Ren-san had to carry you…"

"Tsuruga Ren." The mention of that name made Kyoko stop in her tracks, and Kyoko demons begin to materialise. The lady boss felt them, and immediately beat a hasty retreat. "I'll be downstairs at the shop if you need me."

Kyoko rummaged around for her phone, and when she found it, punched in that familiar number. She waited impatiently for him to pick up, grinding her teeth as she did.

"Hello, Kyoko? I'm in the middle of a photo shoot, so—"

"Tsuruga REN." She cut him off, emanating Kyoko demons through the phone.

"What? What are you so annoyed about?" Ren could sense her aura of vengeance through the phone.

"You KNOW what I'm annoyed about!! What's wrong with this ring? What did you do to it?! It won't come off!!" She frantically tugged at the silver band, but it wouldn't budge.

"It's all part of my plan to make you marry me, Kyoko."

"Why, you…!" she was lost for words. She should've known….! When he brought her to that swanky bar to celebrate the completion of Dark Moon….Dammit!! How could he say something like that so blatantly?!

"Um…Ren-san….we need to resume the photo shoot now…." Kyoko heard someone's voice in the background.

"I've got to get back to work now. Drop by my place later in the evening…..fiancee." and the line went dead before Kyoko could respond.

"Damn you, Tsuruga Ren!!" Kyoko's cry could be heard three blocks down.

--

Ren smiled briefly as he snapped shut his phone. He had never met a girl like Kyoko before, and probably never would again. She was so determined and headstrong, but that was what made her even more feminine and vulnerable….plus she was the hardest to get hold off. So he had to make use of the edge he had now. His face still contained traces of a smile as he headed off to work, his head filled with thoughts of her….

…because that was how things were.

Ending note: R&R please! I would appreciate it if anyone has any constructive comments…I still have a long way to go to improve my writing.


	2. Chapter 2

Nani?Nande?Doushite?

Chapter 2: What…the?

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of !

[A/N: I'm so sorry that I haven't written in a long time!!! . The ideas haven't been flowing that well. The relationship between Ren and Kyoko is hard to define…he's afraid that he will make her cry, but he can also be really scary at times...then Kyoko would be scared of him…lol. Well, here's the second chapter!]

Kyoko's heels clattered noisily on the marble flooring outside Ren's apartment, waiting for him to come home so that she could kill him, occasionally throwing in curses, and shaking a Tsuruga Ren voodoo doll. In the process, she scared away quite a number of would-be Ren stalkers.

"Curse you, Ren…curse you…curse you…"

Kyoko was so engrossed in it that she failed to hear the elevator doors slide open, and two sets of footsteps heading in her direction. One belonged to Ren, and the other, a bespectacled young man.

"Mr. Kawashima, this is my fiancée……" Both of them caught sight of Kyoko kneeling in the corner, stabbing the Ren doll with pins.

"….Kyoko…." They both sweatdropped.

She looked up immediately. "Eh? Huh?" seeing them there, she immediately stood up, whipping the doll behind her in an attempt to hide it. "Ahahaha! I'm sorry! Nice to meet you! I'm Kyoko Mogami!"saying this, she took a deep bow.

"Um…nice to meet you too…I'm Ryuji Kawashima." He followed in kind.

"Kyoko….he's our marriage consultant." Ren said smilingly.

"Nani??!!!?!?!" Kyoko immediately reverted to the black mood she was in before, and resisted the urge to punch Ren so hard that he doubled over. Waves of dark aura swept over the entire lobby for a moment before Kyoko noticed that Ryuji was backing away nervously. "Gomenasai!!!" Again, the deep bow.

"Let's go in to discuss this, won't we?" Ren interjected, trusting that Kyoko would go along with the charade. Flustered, Kyoko followed them into Ren's apartment.

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While Ren played the gracious host and served tea, Kyoko paced around the apartment nervously, too riled to sit down.

_Ren…Why is he doing this? _

She tugged at the ring on her finger for the thousandth time, but nothing gave, of course. The smell of jasmine tea distracted her from the arduous task, and she turned around to see that Ren was pouring the tea out of an antique teapot, while kneeling on the floor.

Kyoko almost burst out laughing. She had always thought Ren was a person who drank coffee…mostly of the black variety. Ren noticed her contained laughter and smiled radiantly at her, complete with sparkles in the background.

"What's the matter, Kyoko?"

Her laughter disappeared completely. Ren was PISSED. Big time.

"Nothing…"

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Ren sighed inwardly with annoyance. Honestly, if he didn't scare Kyoko, things would never get done. Including marriage. He felt guilty, like he was blackmailing her into this, but he really loved her. Just that she didn't know it yet.

He followed her movements with his eyes, keeping the smile on his face firmly, as she sat down on the couch opposite Ryuji, who was flipping open a thick ring binder.

"So…let's see…" Ryuji took a sip of tea. "The wedding is scheduled for the end of next month…where would you like to have it? Perhaps on a beach?...er…Miss Mogami?"

Ren joined the consultant in watching Kyoko's face turn various shades of blue, ashen and red. In a moment, he was at her side, patting her back gently.

"Kyoko? Kyoko, breathe."

"W-What?!" she finally managed to sputter. "Tsuruga Ren, you—you JERK!" And continued to utter things that most girls would never, ever have dreamed of saying to Ren.

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Kyoko felt like all the air had been punched out of her, as she stared at his arrogant face. D—Damn him! Who did he think he was?! The stream of words continued, uninterrupted, from her mouth. Suddenly, Ren pressed a cool finger to her lips, silencing her. She stared at him, shocked. He then continued to enfold her in a warm embrace. Breathing in his scent, she calmed down.

"Shh. It's okay, Kyoko. I love you, just that you haven't discovered it yet."

Her face seemed to be on fire. "Ren…Ren, let go of me!"

But he held on, gently but yet almost stubbornly.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Mr. Kawashima, who had been looking away from them, blushing furiously, nearly ran to answer it.

"Delivery! The property of Kyoko Mogami, is that right? We moved it out of Darumaya the shop…Please sign here, Mr. Tsuruga…"

Ren released her, and another shock went through her body. She was dimly aware that this was way too many shocks for one day, but she couldn't really absorb the fact right now. Kyoko was totally focused on Ren, and the delivery man.

"So we redirect her mail to this address?"

"Yes." Was Ren's reply.

"What…What does that mean?" she finally found the strength to say.

"It means," Ren looked her squarely in the eye. "That you will be living with me from today onwards."

[Ending Note: Ahahaha! Ren's OOC. I know that he wouldn't be so compulsive…but…anyway, hope you enjoyed the second chapter! R&R, please!]


	3. BLAZE

なに？なんで？どうして？三篇 「ＢＬＡＺＥ」

Nani? Nande? Doushite? Chapter 3: [BLAZE]

[A/N: I thank everyone who has read this story, and wanted the third chapter to come out.]

"You want me to…what?" There was a vague twitching of her eyebrow that Kyoko was sure would get worse. In a minute…or so. Ren, for his part, sat calmly drinking his tea, not seeming to mind the fact that the girl before him was in danger of spontaneously combusting.

"I want you to move in with me. Here." He said, gesturing around the apartment.

"But – But -" Kyoko sputtered, very well aware indeed of the ludicrous expression on her face. Not even Shou had asked her to move in with him – well, he had, but he'd thought of her as his maid. Ren had proposed to her – even if it was forced, even if he might be taking advantage of her…he saw her as a woman. Even thinking of this, Kyoko's face lit up in a flush of shame, making her want to bury her face in her hands just to hide it.

"Of course you'll have your own room," Ren watched her changing expressions with interest. "I won't insist that you move into my room that quickly-" Even Yashiro sensed danger here, his mouth opening in a panicked gasp.

_He's joking, right? Right? He can't expect her to take things in this easily, even though she's Kyoko – wait, it's exactly because she's Kyoko…! _

Ren's faced was fixed in his Emperor of the Night expression when Kyoko spoke, not daring to look into his eyes. She could feel the pain from where her nails dug in to her palm, and even more – the pain in her heart. This pain was from the slow melting of something that had been frozen for too long, for much too long.

"Give me a little time." Was the only sentence Kyoko could grit out as she took up her bag, heading for the apartment entrance. No-one stopped her; Kyoko didn't know if she should be relieved about that. Maybe she did want to stay – to stay and thrash things out with Ren…

Just as her fingers touched the doorknob, Ren called out to her, and her heart jumped.

"Mogami-san."

Turning, there was a metallic jangle as she just barely managed to grab hold of the brand-new set of keys he'd tossed her.

"Your keys."

Kyoko could've sworn there was a hint of something in his voice as she stared at the shiny new metal, then up at him. Something glimmered in his eyes even as that fixed smile remained pasted on Ren's face. Loneliness? Yashiro hovered anxiously in the background.

Without hesitation she stepped out, letting the door close behind her.

_I'll be back._

xxx

It was not a common occurrence that Kotonami Kanae approached a door with caution. Usually she would fling it open, and stride right in, confident and ready to face whatever lay behind it. But this was an exception; there was an unearthly crashing and banging going on behind it, mixed with howls and sobs. Sure, it looked like a normal dressing room door, the one she'd been assigned to at the TV station, but waves of bad karma rolled off it.

Kanae knew bad karma when she saw it.

She stood there in a daze for a while, just staring at the door and slackly wondering if it was a good idea to open it. A lone cat walked past her at some time, causing her to jump out of her skin. She looked around, making sure no-one had seen her do that.

_Hahaha! It's just a door…just a door…it doesn't matter if I open it…_What am I doing?

But her fingers had already wrapped themselves around the handle, and pushed in on the dismal scene inside.

_Uh-oh._

Kyoko was curled up on the floor, bawling in chorus with the many Kyoko demons that flew in desperate circles around her, knocking into objects around them. An air of despair hung so thickly around her that Kanae believed if you walked into it, you would probably never come out alive again.

"Kyo…Kyoko…san…" she began in a hesitant voice, gripping the doorframe in case she needed to escape.

Said person's head lifted, and her eyes filled with gratitude so genuine that it generated sparkles which would make _anyone _go blind.

"Mo~~~~~ko~~~~!" was the joyful cry.

It was a strange sight to behold, Kyoko crying with sadness and joy at the same time, above all the chaos waving a hand upon which something glinted.

Kanae's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Now she infringed upon Kyoko's island of dread, and grabbed onto that hand. A…diamond ring? On the fourth finger… "What have you gotten yourself into this time?" she demanded.

Xxx

Ren knew that Kyoko wouldn't have accepted him that easily. He saw it, the fear in her eyes when she suspected he liked her. If she did, that just…wouldn't be her…

A bitter smile curved his lips.

Why should he, who had lived a life of lies, be allowed to pursue such an untainted and innocent being such as her? What a paradox…Ren took another swallow of cognac, setting the already half-full bottle down on the glass-topped coffee table. _Why should I…be able to…?_

Yashiro knew these moods of his; black moods that made Ren drink even more – the man already drank like a fish. The manager watched his charge through slitted eyes, leaning against the living room wall. The soft atmospheric lights that lit the room only seemed to further highlight harsh reality. Yashiro waited for the other half of the hard liquor to disappear before speaking.

"Ren. Stop it."

"Of course I will."

That fake, bright smile again. Yashiro had to wonder if the troubled young man was getting _too _good at his job. And that fake smile was going to get stuck on his face one day, if he wasn't careful…

"Why should I be allowed to pursue happiness, Yashiro-san?" this in a soft voice, dangerously veiled.

Ren's face was shadowed, his eyes two dark windows no-one could look through. "Why should I be able to touch it with tainted hands, and twist it into what I think it should be?"

"Ren -" Yashiro's face was despairing. How many times had he tried to counsel this man out of depression, out of destroying himself? "I'm afraid you'll have to think this out yourself. No-one can help you if you won't let them."

He left, closing the door on the air of depression behind him.

xxx

Moko had never had such an illogical event happen to her. Therefore she was unable to even imagine how something like _this_ could happen…it was beyond her comprehension.

"You…what?" she asked with a serious face, even though she'd made Kyoko repeat the situation at least five times. The girl was now sitting upright at the kotatsu, but was getting visibly more agitated.

"He forced me to accept his proposal!"

Moko examined the ring, trying unsuccessfully and quite painfully to get it off. Kyoko bore with it, knowing that the best option was to submit; at the risk of Kanae's wrath, and for her own good.

"No good." Moko announced solemnly, sitting back on her haunches. "He must've installed something special into it."

"That bastard Ren…" Kyoko growled, prepared to curse him to hell and back.

"Kyoko…deal with it." was Moko's response, calm and short. "It's not like you don't like him, right? And the fact that he went to such lengths to get one on you means something…you might not see or understand it now, but it's definitely there." Kyoko fidgeted, more or less uncomfortable with all this talk about love, the emotion she'd gone to such lengths to forget.

"Just go ahead with it. You know his character – he won't treat you badly, and I can assure you that you won't regret it. He…loves you Kyoko."

The incredulous gaze Kyoko shot her was dimmed when she saw the gentle smile on Kanae's face. "Oh…oh, right…" the teenage girl fiddled with her fingers, staring at the floor.

"Go on now." Moko all but pushed her out of the room. "I've got to change."

"Ummm…oh…thank you!" Kyoko managed to give a quick bow before the door was closed on her. She sweatdropped.

_Was that…even her?_

xxx

Ren had washed up as best he could, at least enough to remove the stink of liquor. The actor, coveted idol of many women, paced his apartment nervously, his mind blank and his mouth spewing random muttered thoughts. "She's just a seventeen year-old girl…I must have frightened her…Oh, I'm the worst…!" It was these times that his old demons came back to haunt him – they whispered tauntingly in his ears, mobbed him till he was sure that he'd be unable to breath. Ren slumped on the sofa, attempting to fight them.

_You don't deserve her…you know you don't…you're greedy, tainted…_

_You'll taint her, too, with your stained hands…_

Minute droplets of sweat had started to gather on his brow.

"_No…I don't…!"_

_Yes, you do, And you know it. _That voice whispered. _You know yourself well, Ren…_

_Yes, _was the silent admittance he gave with his bowed head. Eyes closed, Ren let them take him over, like he always did.

"Tsuruga-san?" A gently questioning voice, which he knew to be _hers_. Her presence…always managed to dispel his fears. She was the only one he needed; so unlike all the other women he'd been with – those that had left him, those he hadn't stopped…

"Kyoko?" His eyes inched open slowly, as if to better take in the bright hazel ones that glittered before him. Worry and concern was what he saw in those beloved eyes. Unthinkingly, he caught her around the waist, burying his nose in her scent. This girl, who was so unlike all the others…

"Kyoko, I love you." Said girl's eyes widened a little in shock, and she drew away a little.

He wouldn't have that, and just held on tighter, his soft hair tickling her chin. Kyoko eventually gave in, wrapping her arms around his head, stroking his hair. The muffled words reached her heart, and she let them, a few tears streaking down her cheek as she smiled.

Maybe it was time to let it all go.

To let go of all the bad things that happened with Shou—

That was all she needed.

Finally, over with all that angst! I felt it was essential, though, before I could move on with the next part of the fic. Don't worry, it won't be this depressing. Hope y'all liked it.

EDIT: And I'm sorry about the formatting. screws it up. Removes my column breaks and stuff…ugh.


End file.
